Revelation 18:9

Lament over Babylon

9 Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. ^[a]

Revelation 18:9 Meaning and Commentary

Revelation 18:9

And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication,
&c.] Idolatry, ( Revelation 17:2 ) ( 18:3 )

and lived deliciously with her;
( Revelation 18:3 Revelation 18:7 ) joining with her in her sensual, as well as in her idolatrous practices:

shall bewail her, and lament for her:
shall mourn inwardly, and by various gestures outwardly express their sorrow at her desolation; see ( Ezekiel 27:30-32 ) these will not be the ten kings who will burn the whore with fire, and then repent of what they have done, and weep over her, as Titus did at the destruction of Jerusalem, as some Popish writers have fancied, for they will hate the whore, and eat her flesh; but earthly and idolatrous kings, who will be in the communion of the church of Rome:

when they shall see the smoke of her burning:
as Abraham saw the smoke of Sodom and Gomorrah go up like the smoke of a furnace; by which they will perceive that her judgment is come, and her ruin begun.

Revelation 18:9 In-Context

7 As much as she has glorified herself and lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment and grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow and will never see grief.’

8 Therefore her plagues will come in one day— death and grief and famine— and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

9 Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.

10 In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.”

11 And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally when they see the smoke of her burning; also in verse 18